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Prospect Roundup: Games of April 8

Allard dealing in debut, Vlad notches first RBI in rehab game
Kolby Allard pitched to a 2.72 ERA in 19 starts with Gwinnett last year, the third-lowest mark in Triple-A. (Karl L. Moore/Gwinnett Stripers)
April 9, 2019

Braves LHP Kolby Allard, Triple-A Gwinnett: 5 2/3 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 H, 4 K, 0 BB -- The 21-year-old helped guide the Stripers to their fourth win through five games. Atlanta's No. 11 prospect put to rest any worries the club might have had after he endured a

Braves LHP Kolby Allard, Triple-A Gwinnett: 5 2/3 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 H, 4 K, 0 BB -- The 21-year-old helped guide the Stripers to their fourth win through five games. Atlanta's No. 11 prospect put to rest any worries the club might have had after he endured a subpar Spring Training that cost him a chance at opening the year in the Majors. Handed a 6-0 lead in the first inning, Allard breezed through 5 2/3 frames in his 2019 debut, surrendering only a first-inning single to hot-hitting Durham shortstop Jake Cronenworth through his first four frames. A single and two-base error by left-fielder Adam Duvall ultimately cost the southpaw a chance at a scoreless outing. "Just tried to execute pitches," Allard told the Stripers website. "Could have executed a little better, but the defense did a good job behind me and it was a good team win." Allard threw 49 of 74 pitches for strikes. Gameday box score

Nationals OF Rhett Wiseman, Double-A Harrisburg: 2-for-3, 2 HR, 2 RBIs, SB, BB -- After slugging a career-high 21 homers with Class A Advanced Potomac last year, the 24-year-old is off to a hot start in Double-A with four roundtrippers through five games. The Nationals' third-round pick in the 2015 Draft belted a solo shot to right field off No. 22 Rockies prospectRico Garcia. Wiseman notched his third career multi-homer game and first since last May 21 with another solo blast to right in the sixth. Gameday box score
Astros OF Kyle Tucker, Triple-A Round Rock: 1-for-4, HR, 2 RBIs -- Off to a 1-for-10 start through his first three games, MLB.com's No. 8 overall prospect collected his first roundtripper and RBIs of the season. Tucker enjoyed a solid spring with the Astros, hitting .276 with three doubles and six RBIs in 15 Grapefruit League games. That came on the heels of an MVP-caliber season last year with Fresno -- Houston's former Triple-A affiliate -- where the 22-year-old hit .332/.400/.590 with 24 homers and 93 RBIs in 100 games. Tucker made his Major League debut last July 7 but struggled in 28 games, hitting .141 with 13 strikeouts in 64 at-bats. Gameday box score
Rockies 3B Elliot Soto, Triple-A Albuquerque: 3-for-4, 2 HR, 4 RBIs -- It took the Creighton University product all of four games and eight innings to surpass his home run total from 2018, not to mention his career high in a single season. Soto, who went deep once in 238 at-bats last year, singled and then slugged a pair of two-run jacks for the first multi-homer game of his career. The 29-year-old entered this year with seven long balls in 2,392 at-bats since 2010. Gameday box score
Royals OF Seuly Matias, Class A Advanced Wilmington: 3-for-4, 3B, 2B, 2 RBIs, 2 R -- Last year's organizational leader with 31 homers, the sixth-ranked Kansas City prospect is still waiting for his first of 2019. But Monday was a big step in the right direction. After going hitless in three of his first four games, Matias broke out for the Blue Rocks, falling a long ball shy of the cycle while driving in and scoring his first two runs of the season. The 20-year-old plated No. 5 Royals prospect Nick Pratto with a double in the fourth and a triple in the sixth. Matias singled in the eighth for his first three-hit game since July 28 with Class A Lexington. Gameday box score
Astros RHP Peter Solomon, Class A Advanced Fayetteville: 4 2/3 IP, 6 H, 11 K, BB, 2 ER -- A rising pitch count was all that separated Houston's No. 12 prospect from a truly special evening. As it was, Solomon easily surpassed his previous career high of eight strikeouts set last May 8 with Class A Quad Cities against Fort Wayne. The 22-year-old surrendered a two-run homer to J.C. Escarra in the opening frame but he struck out three in the inning, which set the tone for the rest of his season debut. Solomon surrendered five hits and a walk over the ensuing 3 2/3 innings, recording eight of 11 outs via the punchout. The right-hander fanned 114 over 100 2/3 innings in the Midwest League last year. Gameday box score

Blue Jays 3B Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Class A Advanced Dunedin: 1-for-4, RBI, BB -- Baseball's top overall prospect moved one step closer to ending his rehab assignment after delivering an RBI single and a walk in five plate appearances. Guerrero began the year in the Florida State League after straining his left oblique on March 10, which cost him the rest of Spring Training. The 20-year-old son of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero shot to the top of the prospect charts with a strong 2017 and followed that up by batting .381/.437/.636 with 50 extra-base hits and 78 RBIs in 95 games last year. He's gone 1-for-4 in each of his three rehab games with the D-Jays to begin 2019. Gameday box score
Phillies DH Dylan Cozens, Triple-A Lehigh Valley: 1-for-4, HR, 4 RBIs, 2 BB, SB -- The slugging IronPig picked an opportune time for his first long ball of the season. Cozens' second-inning grand slam was the difference as Lehigh Valley rallied past visiting Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The 24-year-old began the year 1-for-11 with eight strikeouts in his first four games before connecting on his second career slam and first since April 19, 2017 against Columbus. Cozens is no stranger to rounding the bases. He's gone deep 127 times in the Minors, including a career-best and Minor League-high 40 in 2016 with Double-A Reading. Gameday box score
A's OF Dustin Fowler, Triple-A Las Vegas: 3-for-5, 2 HR, 4 RBIs, 3 R -- With a career high of 13 home runs, the 24-year-old isn't known for his slugging prowess. But Fowler has taken a liking to Oakland's new Pacific Coast League affiliate in Sin City, blasting four roundtrippers and collecting 10 RBIs through his first five games in 2019. The former 18th-round Draft choice smacked a pair of two-run clouts for his second multi-homer game and first in almost exactly two years. Fowler went deep twice on April 4, 2017 with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre against Buffalo. Gameday box score

Michael Avallone is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @MavalloneMiLB.